Similar Content

Graciaas!! So, you got the shiny new car which is eager to hit the road! But wait, what about the permanent registration? You can always rely upon your dealer to this favour, of course against some money, but you can save few hundred to thousand bucks if can do it yourself. In this write up I would like to share my experience of car registration in Kondapur , Hyderabad.

So, first thing first, what are the papers/documents required?
Form 20 (In Duplicate if you have Finance and signed by the Finance company/bank)
Form 21 provided by the dealer
Form 22 provided by the vehicle Manufacturer
Photocopy of a valid Insurance Certificate
Tax invoice from the dealer
Temporary Registration Certificate
Life Tax Receipt
Photo ID Proof (Govt provided)
Address Proof (Ration Card, Electricity Bill, Passport, BSNL Telephone Bill...)
Aadhar Card
PAN Card.
Just in front of the first counter.. as on 18.08.2015

How do I prepare myself, how to deal with RTO officers?
Well, RTO officers are very friendly here in Kondapur. You just need to be well informed and all the documents should be perfect. Some people around there are really helpful (personally we got help from a stranger!), so don't worry, just do the below things before you head to RTO for permanent registration of your brand new car.
Verify if you have all the copies of the documents mentioned above.
Carry a pen, small pencil & eraser. You need to sign on form 20 at 2-3 places (IIRC) and do a pencil trace.(eraser is , in case if you could not do the pencil trace properly.)
Refer your owner's manual or ask the dealer where the Chassis number is punched or engraved properly on the body. Usually there is a plate provided which has the chassis number. But some car is provided VIN no. or chassis number in more than one place. Find out which one can do the pencil trace. You need to do that on Form 20(IIRC) wherever RTO officer asked to do so. Please practice couple of times on a A4 paper so that you can do the same smartly over there without wasting your valuable time! check yourself whether you can comfortably reach this place and take pencil trace of the number Remember, chassis number should be visible properly on the required papers.
Itâ€™s always better to reach early to get familiar with the environment. 10.30 AM is the opening time, be there around 10 AM. You might even find some friendly agent who will verify the document order without a fee.
Anything else? Valuable tips or something?
Of course.. I am outta here! No worries. Just do take care of the following things while you made up you mind that you will DIY registration of your brand new car!
Some people like me done full mat floor cover as soon as they get their new car. Its really good and helpful thing unless you know the chassis number is engraved below the full mat cover! Well, just check up where exactly the chassis number is engraved for pencil trace. Make sure you haven't covered the area with the full mat until the registration. In my case, I had done my full mat just a week after I got the car. I checked up for chassis number and found that chassis number is on the door panel of Grand i10 which is easy to do the pencil trace. But wait..kahani mein twist hai. the moment we started doing pencil trace to get the chassis number, we realised that it's not that much engraved. In Hyundai Grand i10 chassis number is properly engraved in the chassis itself, just pull the drive's seat to extreme back, you will find below to that the chassis number properly engraved for pencil trace and guess what.. I insisted to fix (semi-fix actually) the mat to the chassis (by adhesive) in order to avoid misplacing the mat while driving (which is good otherwise IMO). Hence, we had to cut the mat for that place & repair it again to get those precious letters & numbers!! Thankfully the guy dint charges a single penny for the cutting & repairing. I heard, some cars like Maruti have their chassis number engraved under the bonnet. Owner of those cars will not have tough time in this regard. I have seen in Honda Jazz, in the right side of the driver's seat, but again, if you cover it up, be prepared to cut it! So this type of car owners be careful.
I Dint notice that, floor mat is covering the chassis number
Take 3-4 copies of Form 20 from the dealer (or take photocopies) and get it endorsed from the finance banker. Extra copies will ensure keeping documents for every agency including you.
Arrange all the set of documents in line with the RTO guideline at home, so that you will not block the queue at the RTO for setting up the docs.
Better do not go on Fridays & Mondays to avoid rush
Hmm.. reached early at RTO office. Whats next?
After entering the RTO park your car in the designated place and come to the registration counter with papers/documents. It's on the right side after you entering the RTO office. You will find some Xerox shops etc. which are behind this counter. As you have already made your set of documents at home in the order specified in the list, just give it at the New Registration Counter.

The clerk verifies the documents; he will guide you to put sign on 3-4 places on Form 20 or/& any other doc if required and ask you to put sign on a digital signature pad. He will issues a fee receipt after collecting the prescribed fee of Rs 635/- (Application Fee - Rs 200, Service Charge - Rs 200, Smart Card Fee - Rs 200, Postal Charges - Rs 35) and another 620/- or so for HSRP charges (High Security Registration Plate). Make sure only owner signs on the digital pad. After that you need to go the next counter in left side to join another queue for photographs, finger print & eye scan (This photo will appear on the RC). Then you need to go the vendor shop for HSRP (extreme left point if you stand before the counter), where you need to show the receipt of Rs 1235/-(approx)

That vendor will give you the time & date when you need to come there again to fix the HSRP(After getting the Reg number), but before going there make sure to call him @ 9963908679, (please do cross verify the number again),

Then you have to take the pencil trace of the Chassis number. If you have finance, then there will be two copies of Form 20, you have to take pencil trace on both the copies.(On the bottom edge of the first page of Form 20 IIRC, otherwise ask the inspector seating there). You bring all documents, receipts along with your car to the vehicle inspector who sits in the open small shed, beside a tree near the receipt counter. He will ask you or his chela to read out the chassis number while he verifies on the Form 20. Gives you a copy of the receipt and voila you have done with the registration process!!

The entire process took us only 40-45 minutes (max an hour) and it is not at all difficult. The RC smart card will come to the address as mentioned in the RC by post.(You can get it by hand next day by giving 300/- to anybody from those Xerox shops behind the receipt counter; but I would suggest to take it through post) Your Registration number will be updated on the RTA website by the same day evening. You can search using your Temporary Registration Number.

After a couple of days you visit RTO office again to fix the number plate (make a call before going), you need to show your HSRP receipt or tell your number, they will take out the number plates & ask you to put sign on their register (proof of received I guess) .

They may ask you to give tips of 100/- to 200/-. Now it's up to you whether you will pay or not!! However, they had done the job perfectly.

So, Finally our "white knight" is getting the number plate!!
That's it.. Congratulations! Your car finally got the permanent number plate!!
PS: The process mentioned here is as on 18.08.2015 ; Kindly visit RTO for any update in this regard.

Now-a-days, tubeless tires have become a standard in most of the cars starting from the entry level.

Is it really necessary to purchase an 'Air pump'?

Air pump:I feel it is a must needed accessory for all the cars in any scenario.
Few years ago, a decent air pump used to cost is INR 5000/-
But, now the prices have gone down drastically where in you can buy a good quality air pump under INR 1500/-

Advantages of having an Air pump in your car
No wastage of time when a low tyre pressure is observed. All you need to do is, pump the air and drive to the nearest puncture shop for a quick check.
Most of the modern cars are equipped with a smaller spare tire but, most of them are limited to 80 km/hr speed.Reason: To save the Trunk space or Cost cutting
If you are on the highway, you need to shift back the spare tire again after change.
No need to remove all the luggage from your trunk
You can help your colleagues and neighbors
Very helpful in remote areas or night drives or ghat sections.
Will be handy in multiple tire puncture scenarios!Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong : Murphy's law
Disadvantages of an Air pump in car
It will eat up a little of your trunk space (can be negligible at times in bigger boots)
Wont help when the puncture hole when it is too big.
Pressure may not be accurate at times, need to verify again at a nearest tire shop.
Value for money air pumps in the market
Bergmann Typhoon Car Tyre Inflator : URL : ~1350/-
Michelin 12264 Digital Micro Tyre Inflator : URL : ~ 2300/-
Both the above listed products are equally good.

Few tips

Always check your air pressure on regular basis. Slow punctures are always a head-ache in tubeless tires which is tough to diagnose.
If a particular tire is having less air pressure (compared to other tires) on regular basis, it is always better to check the tire if it has undergone any puncture.
Never pump the air when the tires are hot. It is fine for city commute but during a highway drives better to avoid.
Low pressure in your tire will cause a tire burst. Many people think the high pressure will cause a tire burst which is so not true.
Always use the correct tire pressure suggested by the manufacturer.
During Vikarabad drive, we have observed a tire pressure go down to 18 PSI and it took us around 3 minutes to get back to 33 PSI.

Start point - Gachibowli (ORR)
End point - Pune (Western ghats)
Start time - 4:00 a.m.
Total Distance - ~580 kms (one way)
Objective - A long drive to explore the uncharted territories of the Western ghats and thank the monsoon showers.

4:00 AM - We start from off from the meet-up point (Gachibowli) towards Pune.
8:00 AM - Stop by for breakfast at Kalaburgai.
1:00 PM - We stop by for lunch after crossing Solapur.
7:00 PM - We reach Pune to break down for the day.

Day 2 (August 25th - 2017):
Kundalika White water rafting, followed by Western Ghats exploration drive

5:30 AM - We start from off from the Pune accommodation towards Kundalika water rafting.
8:30 AM - Have breakfast en-route and reach water rafting point.
12:00 PM - We will complete the rafting, start exploring the Western Ghats till evening.
7:00 PM - We reach Pune to break down for the day.

Hi all.
I went to a remote location where AC is not available.
So I want to use my car AC for whole night.
Can i use my car AC in neutral gear. What are the implications? Can i sleep in my alto 800 with switching on AC for whole night while the car is in idle?

Planning:
It was October 2016 when we started planning for a long road trip. It was my wife's idea of visiting a cold place (if possible, snow fall) in winter, and subsequently we ended up talking about Manali (obvious choice of transport being, ROAD ). Idea was shot down by colleagues and friends, saying 2200KM drive one-side is no joke. Having experience of driving 17 hours a day couple of times, I knew that 3-day drive to Manali was pretty much possible. When started planning, things started to look easy - one of the key aspect of this journey was choice of stops.

Upon deciding stops, stay, and places to visit, there was no stopping. In general, I would love to have best possible weather when I hit the road (my usual search query on Google being "where is it raining in India?"). In this case, we knew that fresh snowfall would happen at most 4-5 times in entire season, and we finalized dates trusting Accuweather data.

Preparation:
Being very particular about vehicle maintenance, I got everything checked (also, 2nd service was due around the same time) a week before our drive. One major problem we previously faced was light throw from headlights (OSRAMs) - I finally decided to replace with with Philips X-treme Vision Plus H4 (+130%), and they are amazing!

Day-1: (Hyderabad to Sagar - 884KM)
State: Telangana
It was a key decision that we had to make about 1st stop, and the choice was between Chhindwara and Sagar (considering good places to stay). We were all super-excited the night before; woke up at 4am, and hit road by 4.30am. Roads were flawless till Adilabad, and roads turned ugly (not even bad) the moment we crossed Telangana border - it was stark difference, and a badly shaped bridge welcomed us in Maharashtra.

State: Maharashtra
Road construction was happening on NH44 (for betterment, I'd guess), and it was not so pleasant (at the same time, not eventful) driving in MH. We crossed Nagpur 1.15pm and stopped for lunch as soon as we entered MP.

State: Madhya Pradesh
Tarmac turned super smooth the moment we entered MP - driving on SH 547 was pleasant experience (we passed some hills in between). No wonder MP has some of the cleanest cities in the country - one could judge the same by looking at their roads. We crossed Chhindwara around 4.30PM, and reached destination (Sagar) by 7.45PM. We could already feel the cold that night (not so much, though); had dinner and called it a day.

It was a great day overall (not eventful). It was relatively long day for us in the car (~900KM), and we intentionally front-loaded much of distance on day-1.